Cover band setlist length?

[babyfrank]

A question for those coverband folks out there; In putting together our setlist for Saturday night I got to thinking about the overall length and number of songs. Typically we're looking at 2 sets, each with 17/18 tunes in, so lasting on average 1h 15mins per set.

 

Last time we played the venue we're playing on Saturday, one of the bar staff made the comment that we play for much longer (and play more tunes) than most of the other bands that play there, and that "the other bands" have much larger gaps between songs. Now, it's not a dance club (it's a medium-sized place but all tables, no dancefloor), but I like to keep things moving, and try NOT to leave too many big gaps.

 

So - I guess the questions are;

 

How long do your sets typically last?

 

How many songs per set, on average?

 

Cheers

 

BF

[THB]

Most bands operate on a 45 on 15 off schedule. When I write set lists I put 11 songs down. We uaually go a bit longer than 45 and it makes for a shorter last set.

 

[wheresgrant3]

We are usually booked in 4 hour blocks, so we usually play 1 hr blocks with 30 mins off in between. For instance from 10-2 gig we play 10-11, 11:30-12:30, 1-2am.... for 3 hour block (11-2am we shorten our sets a little a will usually take 15 min breaks or play two long (1-15 min ) sets and take a longer break.

[maxnew40]

In my cover band days we were always expected to play from 9:00 to 1:30. Expected set length was 45 minutes with a 15 minute break between sets. We usually had between 10 and 15 songs per set. That makes for 4 1/2 hours of work or between 45 and 60 songs.

 

I can't believe they don't have a problem with bands only paying for a few hours. I guess things have changed a bit since I switvhed from covers to all original music gigs.

 

Max

[daddymack]

Originally posted by THB Most bands operate on a 45 on 15 off schedule. When I write set lists I put 11 songs down. We uaually go a bit longer than 45 and it makes for a shorter last set.

 

yep...that is the California standard...

 

but aside from just putting songs together, yo ushould look at the pacing, styles, etc. and structure the setlists.

[Cortfan]

Same as what THB said. We usually have about 5 extra songs for encores, etc.

[Fendercaster]

Around here, the standard for country bands is 4 hours. We play four sets, 45 minutes on and 20 off. that way, it comes out even at four hours.

[THB]

Originally posted by daddymack yep...that is the California standard... but aside from just putting songs together, yo ushould look at the pacing, styles, etc. and structure the setlists.

 

Who says I don't?

 

 

Actually, I got kind of tired of all that thoughty stuff so now Timmy does the setlists unless I'm playing solo. Then there's no setlist.

 

[babyfrank]

Thanks for all the input. We tried doing the 45 on 15 off model a few years back, but it didn't seem to go down that well.

 

Most of the places we play are only open until 12:30/1am at the latest, so the 9:30 - 12:30 slot is the most commonly requested, at least in thee area we're playing.

 

On setlist construction - I've pretty much handled that myself for the last 7/8 years we've been gigging, and I think applying the standard "W" pattern helps - start off with a bang for the first few songs, take it down a notch 3/4 songs in, peak in the middle, down a bit again (maybe some acoustic stuff in there), and then finish the set on a high.

 

We have some preset blocks which we know work well, and tend to play around with the order of those to keep things fresh. That said, in the setlist I've put together for tomorrow night, I've taken away our standard "end of the last set" song ("Get What You Give") which we've played as our final song for the last 6 years..... it'll be nice to play it when we're all still fairly fresh! javascript:smilie(':D')

 

Cheers

 

BF:)

[theron]

We do the 17/18 song set thing too, and pretty much just pound 'em out one after the other. It seems to whip the crowd into a frenzy and keep 'em dancin, and they seem to stay later too. We've gotten lots of comments about how we play longer than other bands, etc., too. Seems to go over really well, and the night seems to go faster than playing the 45/15 plan.

 

I think it actually fools people into staying later 'cuz they think "oh, the band's only played two sets, it can't be THAT late"... when in reality it's already midnight by then.

[e-b-e]

Originally posted by wheresgrant3 We are usually booked in 4 hour blocks, so we usually play 1 hr blocks with 30 mins off in between. For instance from 10-2 gig we play 10-11, 11:30-12:30, 1-2am....

 

Same thing we do

 

As per number of songs per set --- we normally have our setlists so theres 13 songs per set planned. Plus a handful on the bottom of the list that we may throw in wherever during the night if we want/need another tune. We sometimes deviate from the list and skip a song here or there or pull a song from elsewhere in the list to accomodate a request or from reading the room as per what they want to hear. Basically we just use our setlist as a guideline.

[Scheming Demon]

Number of songs per set is irrelevant. My cover band does anywhere from 1 hour to 1:15 to 1:30 to sometimes 2 hours, solid music. Than a 15 minute break and another set.

 

Our typical gig is 3 to 3.5 hours of actual performance. We have had some untypical 4 hour gigs. If we're just doing 1 set, which is rare in the extreme, it will be 90 minutes.

 

I hate having a lot of space between songs. We try to work out segues and going from one song to another to avoid wasting too much time. There are planned gaps for bantering and the unplanned gaps for the occasional tuning or malfunction necessities.

[worthyjoe]

Most of our gigs are 3.5 hours long (10 - 1:30) and we do 3 sets at about 50 minutes each. We have very little down time between songs and don't really jam out songs too longs with solos or whatever. I usually put about 13 songs per set.

[orfalot]

We no longer use setlists but the rule was 13 songs per set. For a 4 hour gig the first set is an hour with three 45 minute sets to follow, 15 minute breaks. We are so used to starting at 9:30 that it kinda throws us off when we have to start at the top of the hour, it doesn't take much these days.

[rim]

For a 3-set gig, we'll do 45-minute sets with 15-minute breaks. That's about a dozen songs per set.

 

For a 2-set gig, we'll do 60-minute sets with a 30-minute break. That's about 15 songs per set.

[srsfallriver]

For a four hour gig, we usually do a long 1st set (1.5 hrs/20 songs) to warm up the crowd, then two one hour sets (15 or so songs each). Our first break is usually 20 minutes or less and the other is less than 10. We have a few medleys and try to keep any other time between songs to a minimum.